Oct 20 - Photo a Day - Four o'clock

To a job well done!

 Good Afternoon

It's four o'clock on a Saturday, and we're celebrating a very full day of yardwork with a lovely glass of shiraz. Only a couple more outdoor jobs -- oh, those pesky gutters -- and the house will be set for winter. How that "w" word conjures mixed feelings...

(As an aside, we've been enjoying alcohol-free weekdays, and sipping just a bit on the weekends for nearly two months now. So nice to feel back in control. :))

Returning to four o'clock though... What an interesting time it is. Since I've never held a 9 to 5 job, I'm unfamiliar with the last-hour anticipation that accompanies many people's 4 p.m. These days in fact, it's often the time when I'm starting a new appointment, am in the middle of a project, or getting ready to participate in an evening volunteer gig.

Afternoon / evening tends to be my highest-energy time, which only rarely coincides with others' internal clocks; most seem to be winding down around then. It would be a treat to be sleepy at 9:30 p.m. and bound out of bed at 6 a.m.; however, the truth is, drowsiness eludes me most nights until late, and I don't normally feel completely in-my-body awake until 10 a.m..

Certainly I'm not alone in this out of synch feeling. To the rest of you night-owls, I send a slow-morning coffee- or tea-toast to the fact that we don't live in a horrid dystopia with a 5 a.m. wake-up alarm, where punishment is meted out to us non-morning citizens. Hurrah for freedom! Cheers!

Oct 19 - Photo a Day - Letters

According to Yogi Bhajan, this is the most high Kundalini yoga mantra (read and chanted or sung from bottom to top). "These eight syllables are the 'code' letters, the direct personal phone number connecting you, the creature, with your Creator." How fabulous is that?

I look at this hand-painted poster resting against the wall of Rama Lotus' yoga room nearly every week. To me, not knowing the language, they are just letters. Obviously, to many, they are extremely powerful words, and when chanted for two-and-a-half hours before sunrise for 40 days, can lead a person to enlightenment.

Translated, the words are nearly the same as the beginning of my daily prayer:
There is a creator. Truth is his name. Great is his wisdom.

Letters... strung together make the language of words -- some which nurture, some which wound, and everything in between. Everyday each of us does what we (seemingly) can not help but do: fill words with meaning. True power comes when we realize that we are the authors and the meaning-makers, and every word's interpretation is actually ours to decide.

Oct 18 - Photo a Day - Made Me Smile Today

Can I Help?

Short post today, as I'm trying to kick a mean headache out. This was my view from the floor as soon as I dropped down to do some yoga stretches. Floor level is Copper's, and he loves to lend his 85 lbs and whichever toy he happens to be carrying to my practice. It's hard not to smile, even with a pounding head, when this goofy boy is wagging, wimpering, and/or offering up a favourite stuffed woobie.

What helped more than anything, though, was the next half-hour, which looked like this...

Hope you all got a good snuggle today, too, or at least one really good hug. If not... Copper has plenty more to give. :)

Oct 17 - Photo a Day - Fruit

The Saddest Drawer

Pssst... Don't Forget the Fruit

Dragonfruit, bananas, melon, peaches, kiwi, plums, cherries... There are so many delectable fruits in the world, and so few that those in this household eat.

Our produce drawer regularly looks like this. It is often the place where fruit (and sometimes tofu) goes to mush. Usually lemons and limes are cut for adding to water, beer, guacamole, or fish, but many times the last slices grow a slimy, white mould before we return to them.

We love the taste and crunch of apples, but if you look closely, you'll see that both the red- and golden delicious (probably imported from Eastern Washington) are covered in weeks-old wrinkles, and are undoubtedly mealy inside. The sunken-in pomegranate under last weekend's grapes is likely filled with dried kernels that, far from being a delicious juice ingredient, may soon masquerade as a handle-less maraca.

Why do we do this to these fabulous fruits? Waste makes me nuts, and I'm famous (at least with Pierre) for my leftover-kichen-sink-glop dinners. But many of the tender, sweet, vitamin- and mineral-rich fruits that come to our house tend to wither away rather than be crunched, blended, juiced, or savoured. (I'm hoping, in case you didn't know, that confessing this weakness in our dietary habits will help us change our careless ways.)

The one fruit family whose photograph could probably never be captured here is berries. There hasn't been a berry picked that is safe in our house. Sometimes a basket of blue-, straw-, black- or rasp-berries lasts a full twenty-four hours. More often they make their way into that night's dessert bowl and disappear in a hundred bursts of dazzling flavour.

If you have any motivating ideas that could save the inhabitants of our produce drawer from an extended, non-nutritive death, please feel free to pass them on. For now though, I think I hear that last honeycrisp apple whispering my name.

Oct 16 - Photo a Day - Something I Wrote

Two Years of Notes and Assignments from the PW Program

A Scribe

You may have guessed that I have a weakness for writing. It doesn't yammer at me to get out, as I've heard some authors describe. Full-blown stories don't exist inside me, just waiting for the excess stone to be chipped away, revealing their legends, adventures, or allegories.

Instead, ideas take hold, and as my fingers rest on the keys, words begin to flow out -- jerkily, with many revisions and clarifications -- but I discover, just as you do, what is to be written that day.

I've only experienced writer's block once, with all of its black-holed dread. It lasted an unrelenting three weeks. Our college assignment was to create a children's story; it seemed so simple. But not being a mother, I had read a tiny handful of kids' books in the nearly fifty years prior, and it felt as though I was being asked to write a story in Swahili. "I can't" is rarely in my vocabulary, so in saying those words to my professor, I found tears in my eyes. Luckily, he has a kind and patient soul, and helped me set down my fear.

The following day a rhyming tale began, starring my dear old gold-dog, Porter, and his pug-buddy, Biggie. To my great surprise and delight, it and four others were chosen to be illustrated by the students in the graphics program. Those drawings, sadly, disappeared with the artist, but the block has not returned (touch wood), and I hope that the words continue rolling off of my fingertips, sharing my spirit with those who choose to read them.

Oct 15 - Photo a Day - Dinnertime

Tonight's Hybrid Dinner

 Au Revoir Été

As any cook knows, it's impossible to sear delicious smoky-flavoured grill-stripes onto pork, chicken, or steaks in a flat-bottomed fry pan no matter how one tries, yet here they are....

At our house, Pierre is The Barbecue King, a master of both the grill and the rotisserie. As a general rule, once he has begun preparation, the meat or veggies remain there until slowly cooked to perfection. Throughout the summer he regularly sends the mouth-watering scent of searing organic meat throughout our neighbourhood.

On a couple of ocassions we've run out of fuel in the midst of an outdoor grilling and have had to finish it up inside, but tonight that wasn't the case. These lovely chops' visit to the barbecue was aborted due to rain. No one, least of all a king, loves a soggy chef, so in he came, carrying a pink-tinged plate of pork.

The chops, joined by baked delicata squash and rosebud beets, made a yummy feast, but their cooking circumstances clearly illustrated that our beloved outdoor sizzling season is very near its end.

Oct 14 - Photo a Day - Makes You Laugh

Rick and Nancy Chuckle Together

ROFL!

What a treat it is to find people who crack you up.

I've been told throughout my life that I'm far too serious... or intense... or sensitive. In truth, I am all of those things. There are many things that "the general population" finds hilarious which seem cruel or simply sad to me. Sit-coms usually don't qualify as comedy in my world. The things that make me laugh are goofy, off-the-wall, and strange to many.

 What I have learned though, thank goodness, is that I am far from alone. The longer I live, the more people come into my life who share my sensitivity and values. I'm blessed to have a partner who not only finds me funny, (an amazing thing in itself) but makes me grin, chortle, and snort. That feeling of finding kindred spirits -- those whose oddities are similar to yours -- is affirming and freeing, and that in itself inspires laughter.

Spending time with happy, loving people is truly a delight. Discovering partners-in-weirdness makes the journey so much more fun. And the best thing to help lighten the somber contemplation of our out-of-balance and somewhat uncertain future is a grand guffaw.

Oct 13 - Photo a Day - Landscape

Cottage Country

This past weekend we had the great honour of being invited to our friends, Rick and Nancy's, family cottage. Resting on the shore of the beautiful Severn River in "cottage country" north of Toronto, this sweet haven was Nancy and her grandparents' summertime home when she was young. Naturally, the area has become much more populated and the cottage itself is getting some necessary face-lifts, but the memories and feeling of a loving family's country get-away remain.

Saturday afternoon we were joined by three other fellow motor-sport-enthusiast couples and two low-riding long-haired dachshunds. Oscar and Ernie graciously handled Copper as he towered over them, and they all seemed to enjoy the extra canine company. Once everyone had settled in, nine of the ten of us, plus all three pups, climbed aboard our hosts' comfy pontoon boat for a final river cruise of the season. The views of gorgeous autumn foliage and river-side homes (and toys) totally overshadowed the bite of the chilly breeze. It was truly a photographer's dream, and a wonderful, relaxing boat ride.

What is a friends- or family-gathering without a feast? As expected, we all ate too much delicious lasagna and salads and followed the meal with pumpkin pie, bread, and coffee cake, topped with fresh whipped cream. Such decadence!

Cottages in Washington State are called cabins, and this weekend reminded me of my grandparents' cabin on gorgeous Lake Chelan. Wooden walls, tiny bedrooms, a fireplace, and a central dining table whose leaves and extensions created room for plenty of company were all so familiar. Many of my childhood summer weekends included a rousing card game of "Oh Sh*t," a form of rummy, which Rick and Nancy allowed me to add to their cottage's repertoire.

With Friday's brief display of snowflakes making winter's beginning obvious, we're feeling quite blessed to have experienced this end-of-season retreat, and are once more grateful for the generosity of dear friends.

Oct 12 - Photo a Day - On the Table

The Living Room Hot Spot

Rarely do we eat our meals at the dining room table. It seems to be reserved for special occasions or guest appearances. This wee end table gets an almost daily workout as holder of precious gifts, art, stones, teacup, books, and often, the current meal. (Today's brunch is comfort food: ramen with a scrambled-in egg and smoked oysters. Somehow I forgot to toss in the usual handful of spinach and a big pinch of seaweed. An afternoon salad is obviously in order!)

Beside my study-library books rest a clear quartz crystal, fellow traveler for a couple of dozen years, and a perfectly-hand-shaped piece of sodalite -- my favourite meditation stone, promoting peace, harmony, and abundance.

The pine-needle, antler, and bead basket was lovingly made by a dear friend in Washington whose home in the Cascade foothills, surrounded by giant pines I can feel in its rolling curves. It holds a rosewood box of amber, a scent from California days, gifted by beautiful custom shoe-making friends who live an off-grid dream life in an Earthship they built. Hanging from the lamp is a precious blown glass vial made by a friend living just across the border from Vancouver, BC. Inside the vial are cradled a few cremains of our sweet gold-dog, Porter. And finally, a copper-topped candle holder, gifted by my lovely Ottawa girlfriend, on which are inscribed words to live by: "Love protects, Love trusts, Love hopes, Love never fails!"

Perhaps the dining room table, with its open expanse of near emptiness, can not compete with these cherished belongings whose energy draws me to sit near them, whether writing, eating, or simply being.

Oct 11 - Photo a Day - Something Close up

Time to Thrive

Very soon this Thanksgiving cactus will be covered in bright fuschia blooms. I look at it every day, and yesterday, just like that, there were tiny round balls on the tips of many of its branches. Today, this bud began to push its way out. It's still no bigger than my pinkie fingernail, but it has leaped ahead of its brethren.

The Brazilian tropical cactus, Schlumbergera, loves its end-table home. We were lucky to be graced by its blooms twice this year -- evidently some are biannual artists -- now, and just before Easter. It's lovely what happens when conditions are right.

I've been feeling that ideal atmosphere recently as my new business begins to blossom. Teaching has long been a secondary job, and these days I'm thrilled to have it as my leading role.

It's also been a joy to watch a couple of friends get in touch with parts of themselves that they've never before explored. Healing is happening, lives are expanding, new possibilities are coming to the foreground. Nothing as yet has significantly changed in their external lives -- no wonderful new home or job -- but they are following the wise sentiment that reads "Bloom Where You're Planted," they have their eyes on the good, and it won't be long before the blessings rush in. I wait in patient anticipation, ready to bear witness and applaud their bright, flourishing displays.

Oct 10 - Photo of the Day - Emotion

Farewell Dear Yellow Grape Tomatoes, and Thanks for Your Bounty

Summer's Demise

If you read my post yesterday, you probably sensed how I revel in autumn's spell. The truth is, joy is not the only emotion I feel with the onset of these nippy nights and overhead florescent displays.

Death, or the process of dying is a large part of fall. The annual flowers and herbs have turned black and wilted with the first frost. Tomato plants sag, and their final, sweetly delicious fruits tenaciouly hang on or drop to the ground with the wind's gusts. The ancient pine blankets our home with identical long V's of beige flakes. Garden hoses are coiled and stored as preparations begin for winter's biting freeze.

While winter has its own beauty and delights -- outdoor skating rinks to name just one -- the imminent piercing temperatures limit our outdoor freedom, and here in Ottawa at least, last a very long time. There is grief, then, in this season, and the top of my chest carries the weight of melancholia as I pack away my shorts and tank tops, flip-flops and sun visors, and pull on my down jacket for today's walk.

Oct 9 - Photo a Day - Red

l'amour!

I Heart the Fall

This incredible maple tree is the earliest to acclaim "Autumn" in our neighbourhood. It grows in front of Mrs Smith's yard, across the fence behind us. She lives on a tiny, six-house loop, where all but the treetops are protected from the wind, so its glory lasts a long time.

Every morning for a number of weeks as I make my cup of tea, it waves its vibrant plumage through the kitchen window. While morning is not my favourite, autumn is, and this tree with its persistent glow makes me almost giddy.

When Copper and I walked around the block to take a photo of this beauty, I had no idea that there was a heart lodged between its long-needled pine and blue-spruce neighbours. But here you see it!

A number of other 'reds' tempted me, and were strong contenders for today's photo: the firebush two doors toward the greenbelt, a brilliant border of neon red roses, a Canadian flag flapping in front of a golden ash tree, the Keller Williams (my former company) 'For Sale' sign down the street, and even the newly-hung red-berry wreath gracing our front door.

This season, with its intense colours and scents, fills me with such glee. I feel as though Life has pulled out its paint pallete and dotted the world with its electrifying spirit simply for the joy of surrounding us with beauty.

Oct 8 - Photo a Day - Angle

Om nom nom nom

A Gratuity for the Comic

Copper very rarely gets human food, as we've found he's got some allergies -- chicken gives him the wild-itchies -- and his super-duper "biologically appropriate," 100% balanced kibble keeps him nicely tuned. However... it IS Thanksgiving, and today I just happened to scoop out the last teaspoon from the peanut-butter jar.

It took him a few hilarious minutes of pushing the plastic tub around the living room, sneaking in a lick on rare occasion, before he finally tamed it and got it propped at just the right angle. The feast that ensued lasted a good quarter-hour with numerous breaks to lick the obviously ambrosial, yet sticky coating off the roof of his mouth.

The jar was significantly deeper than the length of his tongue, and his snout was far too robust to fit inside, but once he slicked the top half clean, he carried it around, propping it here and there to try reaching those lower dregs.

As I enjoy a piece of pumpkin pie, tonight's dessert for our comic red-dog will be the last peanut-butter treat swiped out with a rubber spatula when he wasn't watching.

Oct 7 - Photo a Day - Light

The Queen: Penny Soaks up the Sun

Our Brilliant Sol

It's a very cool 8 degrees Celsius/47 Fahrenheit outside, and after a chilly foray into the neighbourhood, our little girl took a blissful nap on her perch in the lightest and warmest spot in the house. Her bed rests atop my Grampsy's hassock, which is filled, as it's been most of my life, with toys for visiting (human) children. Both sit right next to my rocker -- my writing chair -- in our front, nearly floor-to-ceiling south-facing windows.

Light, especially natural sunlight makes me happy, too. A few people I know actually require sunlight to maintain balanced moods. With a lack of it, they suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). The shorter days of winter and many gray, drizzly days in the Pacific Northwest almost literally press them down into a funky depression. While sitting in front of extremely bright, full-spectrum light panels or traveling to sunnier climes can help, the best remedy seems to be the return of more daylight. I feel for them, and have often wished my annual budget included a couple of extra plane tickets to the tropics.

Outside our window, and across North America, deciduous trees are blazing in full glory, partially triggered by the shortening days, partly by dropping temperatures. The air is sharp with the smell of fallen leaves -- a scent that made unexpected laughter burst out of me on Friday. Between these puffy white clouds lies a bright blue sky, and luckily for all of us who thrive in the sun's rays, we still have another month or two of ten-hours-of-daylight days.

Oct 6 - Photo a Day - I'm Thankful for...

Mon amour, Pierre: my greatest gift

The Power of Gratitude

It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada: my very favourite holiday, and one which I get to celebrate with my east-coast family, and both of my countries -- one in early October, and a second in late November.

A number of years ago, thank goodness, I was taught the value of living a grateful life at every opportunity, and through long practice, it is becoming part of my nature. It's deliciously easy to be grateful for the wonderful things (like my fabulous partner, Pierre.) The difficulty lies in being thankful for the painful experiences.

I've discovered that, for me, the perhaps-flakey-sounding line, "What you think about expands," is absolutely true. Of course life tosses me experiences that go contrary to my wishes and expectations. I still occasionally fall into the trap of naming things "bad and wrong," and my sensitive feelings do get hurt. But after letting myself feel whatever gets triggered, the next step is to always look for the gifts. (This is where the support and reminders from a few fabulous friends kicks in.)

I believe in rose-coloured glasses. After all, since I'm in control of my thoughts -- at least when I remember to be -- I get to choose the meaning of life's circumstances, right? When things turn out differently than I'd hoped, I ask myself questions like What was my part in this? What can I learn? and How can I do it differently next time? The outcome of this work has been truly incredible. The more good I find in every experience, the more great things come my way, and the more blessed I feel.

Granted, thus far, my painful experiences have been minor compared to others'. I only hope that if or when the extreme ones arrive, my gratitude practice and support system will be strong enough to keep my positive vision intact.

Oct 5 - Photo a Day - Shadow

A Life in Balance

Introducing Ms Tara Porter, my glorious yoga instructor, lifting her powerful heart to the sun as her shadow rests in repose on the cork floor.

Over the past year, I've been attending Tara's Friday Yin/Yang class at Ottawa's downtown studio, Rama Lotus. Recently, I've had the opportunity to go more regularly, which I'm convinced is part of my more elated state of mind.

Yin/Yang, as the name implies, is a balance of active and passive asanas (poses), the perfect transition between the work-week and weekend (not that many weekends are actually passive.) These hour and a half long classes, led in a seemingly effortless flow (which we all know takes years to master) are so much more than a dance of strengthening movement and muscle-lengthening stretches.

Tucked alongside her mat on the raised dais, Tara always has a small stack of books with marked pages. In the second half of the class, once she has guided us into our yin asanas -- supported poses held for maybe five minutes -- she reads us short gems of wisdom as we breathe and soften. Rumi, Mary Oliver, and others' words follow our long, humming exhales of Brahma breaths.

Those reminders of the power and bliss available to us, if we only remain open, seem always to come just at the moment my shadow-mind starts to tighten or pick up some daily-life worry or struggle. They bring me back to the breath and encourage even further letting go. And I have always loved the nurturing feeling of someone reading aloud.

While it is hard to choose the best part of this practice, the final piece is right near the top. You see, our Tara is a singer. With each of us resting under blankets in corpse pose -- the ultimate relaxation asana -- this lovely yogini pours out beautiful Hindi songs of universal peace and healing. I can't understand a word beyond "Om" and "Shanti," but I feel the intention, and drift on her superb voice as it rises and falls with each of her well-trained exhales.

I've practiced yoga with more than a dozen instructors in numerous cities over the past, often nomadic, thirty years. Some teachers I've joined for only a few sessions, some for many. Each has had a unique style, and a small handful have made deep, resonating impressions. It feels as though I am sinking roots into life here in Ottawa (at last), and my hope is that this young woman continues the practice of sharing her talents with us for many, many years.

Oct 4 - Photo a Day - What I Read

WordPress Website Templates

www dot WhoAmI? dot com

One of the most creatively gifted people I know has offered to help design a website for my budding tutoring business... for practice, promo, and payment in pasta!

That means, of course, that not only do I have to get cookin', but it's also time to make solid decisions about who I want to be on the www. To that end, I've spent most of this afternoon perusing hundreds of templates and reading about gorilla social-media blitz techniques.

My niche market -- women with English as their second (or other) language -- narrows my options, which is good. I'm looking for a balance of beauty and practicality. The feminine connection part comes naturally, but learning a language is also extremely logical. In addition to keeping the website wording intelligible, we will need to find organic, left-brained ways of showing potential tutees that I provide a safe and fun place to learn.

How can a few pages on the Internet depict a person's nature? Can ones and zeros, arranged just so portray the joy I feel in providing this patient service, and in celebrating the students' successes? Will WordPress, the right provider, search engine optimization, and keywords attract the precise new people with whom I am meant to learn? The next few weeks will tell, as ideas are clarified and plug-ins and widgets are organized. Wish me luck in this grand, new, electronic adventure!

Oct 3 - Photo a Day - This Happened Today

Shared Diversity

Tonight's library drop-in Adult English Conversation class was small but lively -- just five returning students, plus my fellow facilitator and I; however, we represented a huge span of the globe.

After playing a silly warm-up game of fill in the blanks ("I have a snowball in my wallet because... I couldn't find anywhere else to keep it!"), we focused on hobbies and favourites.

Our group could have formed a band with singers from Poland, Korea, and France, a guitarist from Mexico, a French percussionist, and a Korean flautist. Two -- a librarian and a catering chef -- have transformed their hobbies into businesses. Two, myself from the U.S. included, are teachers. Three are runners/athletes, and we had scientists from Mexico and China.

As diverse as this group was, with its unique cultures, life experiences, and beautiful accents, the thing that struck me tonight was how many things, including our passion to learn, we had in common.

Oct 2 - Photo a Day - Lunchtime

Have you noticed over the past few months that bacon has become wildly popular? (If you're a bacon aficionado, click here for some good news.) I find it a little bizarre that cured, thinly sliced, fatty pig flesh is appearing on t-shirts, coffee mugs, and has over five million Likes on Facebook. Until I taste it.

Since I pride myself on my health-nuttiness, I decided to tuck these two slices of heart-stopping goodness between the grainiest bread available, in the one BLT I allow myself each summer. I even amped up the L portion to a nice, thick layer of home-grown, organic broccoli sprouts.

(In the interest of honest disclosure, bacon does often make a showing next to a couple of eggs prepared on the weekend by the fabulous breakfast-chef in residence, Pierre. Thank God!)

The yummy, thick, white glob next to those perfect raspberries is Greek yogurt, a delicious, creamy and tangy way to populate your digestive tract with healthy probiotic bacteria (plus it has half the sugar and double the protein of 'regular' yogurt.) Sometimes I stir in a little honey and turmeric -- a staple of one of my health mentors, former landlady, nimble-into-her-nineties, Gen MacManiman.

Today's lunch was savoured mindfully, while I gazed out over the front garden. Quite a contrast to those grab-something-on-the-run lunchtimes, that, thankfully, are becoming more and more rare.

Oct 1 - Photo a Day - Where I Stood

It's long been a dream of mine to have a yard that looks and feels like a campground. I had that for ten years, and left it behind -- one piece of a difficult and painful decision. Here I stand, only a few years later, living half a block from an incredible 35,000+ acre greenbelt, crossed with 150 km/93 mi of gorgeous trails.

It was a perfect fall day, and this afternoon found me riding through this arm of the wild park which called out to stop, be still, listen, and breathe. After returning home from doing just that and an hour-long ride, it continued to whisper, so Copper and I wandered back in for our evening walk.

The squirrels were busy, Canada geese honked over in ragged practice formation, and around some of the trail's curves, flaming red and orange maples and bright yellow ash nearly jumped out between the dark green pines, firs and slower-turning oaks.

No matter what kind of struggle we may face, standing, walking, riding, or just being in the oxygen-rich midst of glorious trees helps to put everything in perspective.